Léon Live

Lotta Lindgren, known professionally as Léon, has been releasing music since 2015; however, finally released her full-length debut, LÉON,in March of 2019. Instantly one of my favorite albums of 2019, LÉONis an emotionally complex collection of songs about love found and love lost. It touches upon both moments of heartbreak and affection.

What I’ve learned in life is that if you do not follow an artist you truly enjoy on social media, you will never know if they’re on tour or releasing new music. Social media is truly the only way to keep up with your favorite artists. Thanks to Twitter and Léon’stwitter account, I learned that she would be coming to Chicago and performing at the House of Blues on April 29th, 2019. I immediately bought tickets.

Not having done much research on Léonother than listening to her music, I was worried about what the live performance would bring, though I knew that being Swedish, she would probably be the real deal. Swedish singers have shown to truly have the talent presented on record, and Leon is no exception.

The setlist merged both peaks of past and present recordings. Opening with Lost Time, one of my favorite songs off the album, Leon instantly proved to me that she did have the IT factor I was weary about. In fact, I would dare say that her live performance of this song showcased more of a vocal range than the entire album does.

Her voice is sultry and powerful. Upon diving into Léon’s history, it makes sense that she began her singing career as part of a hip-hop/soul group.

Léon’s music isn’t extremely upbeat, but it is definitely moody and hypnotic. Léonbreezed through the setlist which included some of my favorites. Treasure, Falling, Hope is a Heartache, Better in the Dark, Baby Don’t Talk and her most recent single You and I were all included. Each live showing was as impressive as the studio version.

Léon’s music doesn’t lend itself to a high-energy concert and there were definitely times I wished for a bit more energy, but that would be asking Léonto be a different artist. That sentiment aside, Léonis a talented songwriter and performer. It was exciting to see someone revel in their music and know that this artist is also still on the rise.

I highly recommend her debut album LÉON. I’m interested to see where her career will take her. She truly is talented, and her brand of pop is interesting and different.